It is a strange thing to be born knowing that you are meant to die — that what comes after you will be your truer self. My resurrection is incomplete, yet sufficient for its purposes. Scarce few of my predictions survived my desperate sister's machinations, but in this, I, or rather my past self, have found a modicum of success.

  Evran opened his eyes to a field of green canvas above. He’d been resting on a cot in a makeshift medical tent, meaning he’d passed out from mana loss during the Tempest. His head throbbed.

  “What was I… Narro!” He sat up quickly, taking a deep breath of fresh air — the cleanest he’d inhaled in over a week. His heart raced, exacerbating his headache.

  “Easy there, Ev!” said a soft voice from the ground beside him. “I’m glad you’re finally awake. I read five falling chapters ahead waiting on you!”

  Pouting, Kaila waved her runic theory textbook in his face from her seat on the floor. A massive horn leaned against the wall beside her, drawing Evran’s gaze. It belonged to the monster they fought, which meant it was defeated. And since it hadn’t dissolved into miasma, that meant someone with mana left to spare after a Tempest must have stabilized it. Narro lived.

  “What happened? How’s Narro?” asked Evran, confident in his deduction.

  “He’s fine! He helped bring you here, then took off, leaving me to care for you all by myself,” Kaila pretended to complain. “By the way, do you remember Arietta? Those two are dating now! I can totally picture it. Oh, and this big thing is for you. The adventurers you saved wanted you to have it. Narro took the other one.”

  “They both made it? One of them looked in bad shape when we arrived.”

  “Only thanks to you two. By the way, before I get in trouble with Grist again, I need to warn you.” Kaila knocked her fist against the severed horn. “This is a Crimson Aatxe horn, right? You’ve managed to find yourself yet another powerful aphrodisiac. I swear, Evran! The girls in our school aren’t safe from you yet, are they?”

  Evran fell back onto his cot, laughing. He felt relieved to learn that his decision to help the other team had ended up saving their lives. Something still bothered him, however.

  “Narro said you struck the decisive blow against it,” said Kaila, testing the point of the horn with her fingertips. “And you stood in front of a charging bull monster to land it. You’re pretty brave for a crybaby.”

  She seemed to regret the comment the moment it left her lips, but Evran chose to focus on the brave part. Stupid and reckless, yes, but brave? Isn’t bravery when you’re afraid, yet have the strength of will to overcome that fear?

  “To be honest, I wasn’t even thinking about whether or not to fight it. If I had, I probably would have run. I probably should have run.”

  He’d been physically exhausted and almost completely out of mana, and yet he chose to fight so powerful a monster. Joining that fight had been an idiotic risk, one he really should not have taken. He felt a tinge of guilt at his betrayal of the oath to his mother. Still, he’d saved two lives. She couldn’t be too mad at him for that.

  “But you didn’t run,” said Kaila, her usual smile turning into a vicious pout. “And take the compliment. I don’t give them often, even when paired with an insult I didn’t really mean… sorry.”

  “Don’t worry about it. And thanks for looking out for me and my cool new horn. I should sell this to Yorna before anyone else sees me with it.”

  “Um, she might still be open, but it’s night now.”

  “Damn, how long was I out?” asked Evran.

  “Not too long, but, you know, the Tempest. A second year brought a sextant with her. We’re still in the seventh band, but a lot further north this time. It should be nice and warm for our practical!”

  Their island moved a great distance during the Tempest. Or had it moved at all? To sail from the lower to the upper seventh halfway across the globe would take over a year, and the island had done so in a mere two hours. The world-altering power of space magic was clearly at play somehow. At least the gods had the good sense to seal away the dark element that fueled it before they died. But the Tempest still used it somehow?

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “We’re leaving first thing tomorrow morning. You excited?” asked Evran, finally rising out of his cot.

  “Actually, I’m a little anxious. I don’t like traveling very much, but I’m sure I’ll have fun once we get there. I’ve never been to a virgin island before, and I really hope to find some good ruins to study.”

  After a yawning stretch, Evran staggered over to the giant horn and picked it up. It was shockingly light for its size, but still a considerable burden. Hopefully, he could smuggle it in and out of school without anyone catching him. What remained of his reputation depended upon it. He rested the horn somewhat comfortably over his shoulder and turned to Kaila.

  “Ready?”

  ***

  If Evran were to make a list of people he did not wish to encounter at the castle gates, Professor Grist would appear on it twice. So of course he was there, waiting for Kaila. What for, he would not say. Evran was astonished when Grist sent him on his way having said nothing about the aatxe horn. He’d clearly raised an eyebrow when he’d seen the thing. After thanking Kaila for all her help, Evran left her to deal with the wretched alchemist on her own, feeling slightly guilty.

  Returning to his dorm, Evran found Lerrum still awake. Though it was well past the middle of the night, their day had been cut short by the Tempest and their loss of consciousness. Despite the hour, they were both bursting with energy. They decided to skip sleep and opted instead to exchange their experiences with the previous day’s Tempest while they packed their bags for the practical.

  They eventually heard a bell ringing down the hallway; not the massive castle bells that normally woke them at a sensible hour, but a hand-held bell kept for such occasions. One of the residential orderlies followed up by knocking on every door, ensuring every student was awake and prepared to leave for the boat. On their way out, Lerrum shoved Evran’s staff into his hands.

  “And if I catch you so much as peeing without this staff, I will personally tell Selsey and Kaila and the entire class about that thing three years ago!” Lerrum jokingly threatened. At least Evran hoped it was a joke.

  “Come on, even you thought the Tempest would happen overnight. This one was freakishly early,” Evran retorted.

  They gathered their bags and assembled in the common room with the other male students. Many carried bags much larger than theirs, and a surprising number of students were wearing robes or armor in addition to their school uniforms. Even Lerrum wore the parts of his old light armor that would still fit him — the bracers and greaves. Already, Evran felt as if he’d forgotten something. As a group, the roughly two hundred continuing students of the Aldean Magic Academy marched to the royal navy shipyard at dawn.

  The docks were bustling with activity as boats poured from the harbor in search of new islands and the treasures they might contain. To avoid the chaos of a mad scramble, explorers would register their intent with the Navigator’s Guild prior to the Tempest. Afterwards, registrants would be assigned a random heading under which they were permitted to explore. If a hundred ships registered, there would be a hundred different equidistant headings assigned, ensuring an optimal path of exploration for everyone. Though no particular heading was any more likely than another to have an island, lots were often traded for a multitude of reasons ranging from wind direction to base superstition.

  After roll call, Evran boarded the ‘Glory of Aldea’ with the first batch of students and made his way to his assigned cabin. He’d only sailed on a few large ships in his life, and all were minuscule in comparison. The Glory was a colonial ship boasting three enormous masts — an ancient relic from the Age of Queens. Unfit for neither war nor commerce, the wooden behemoth was spared from decommissioning by the school so that it could be used for just such an occasion.

  Evran shared a cabin with seven of his fellow students, including both Lerrum and Narro. He thought it strange to have the spellblades mixed in with the mages. Was it inter-school bonding, or did that mean the three of them would be on a squad together? Evran felt ecstatic at the prospect. After claiming their bunks, the boys stashed their gear and began exploring the colossal ship.

  “It’s hard to believe this ship is over a thousand years old,” Lerrum mused.

  Eventually, they ended up on the forward deck of the ship. They did their best to stay out of the way as the crew went about their duties in preparation for launch. The harbor was mostly empty by the time they set sail. Speed was everything in the early hours after a Tempest, but there wasn’t much more the school could do while also defending the city and powering the crystal. An agonizing two hours after dawn, the Glory of Aldea finally set sail.

  The ship was not alone, however. A group of seven schooners sailed ahead, each slightly offset from the main ship’s heading. While the Glory lumbered along, the schooners would hopefully find an appropriate island and lead the expedition to it. Without the ability to communicate across distances, the ships would need to reunite every evening and share their discoveries. By the first night, they found a handful of small islands on their sorties, but nothing appropriate for the practical.

  “And so, we’ve recorded the locations of the various islands in shortscript and sent it via pigeon back to Aldea,” Professor Merrilus explained at an impromptu lecture in the mess hall.

  “Why don’t the smaller ships just send us pigeons when they find an island?” asked an unfortunate spellblade.

  Failing to pass the continuation exam was more often an issue with one’s innate magic talent rather than a lack of intelligence or effort, but that fact never stopped the mages from teasing the spellblades. He’d spend the rest of the trip enduring condescending lectures about pigeons only being able to fly home to stationary islands and not moving ships.

  Having not slept the previous evening and still nursing his headache, Evran decided to retire early. He excused himself from the mess hall and returned to his empty cabin. Before he could undress, he heard a knock on the door.